Improved machine for swag-ing axe-polls



tlniml gettata @anni dtlyliw- SYLVANIA, ASSIGNORS TO ROBERT BLAKE.

Letters .Patent No. 89,623, dated May 4, 1869.

IMIPROVED IVIACHINE FOR SWAG-ING AXE-POLLS.

The Schedule referred to in these Letters Patent and making part of the Same.

To whom 'it may concern:

Be it known that we, RoBERT BLAKE and ANSEL CARPENTER, of Scranton, in the county of Luzerne, and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Machinery for Making Polls for Axes, Picks, and other Articles; and we do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

l. In machinery such asabove mentioned the clutch is generally thrown out' of connection when the crosshead, which carries the punching or other operative mechanism, has reached or slightly passed the point of its highest elevation.

.In an axe-poll-punching machine, the crosshead,with its attachment, weighs about one ton, and as, after disconnection with the driving-mechanism, it would be liable to drop by reason of its own weight, as well as the jarring of the machinervinmation. thnsinvolving danger of serious breakage, we employ, 1n connection with the clutch, a stop so arranged that the act of throwing the clutch out of connection shall also throw the stop in position to arrest the movement of the shaft, and sustain the weight of the cross-head and its appurtenances.

2. In machinery which should be stopped and started at every revolution, as above specified, it is also necessary that it should be thrown out of connection with the driving-wheel or shaft quickly and surely, and to this end we combine with the clutch-lever, and latch attached thereto, a lug on one of the cams or eccentrics, which impart to the cross-head its up and `down movement, or on some part of the machinery moving in unison therewith, so that when the cross-head has reached or just passed its highest elevation the lug will strike the clutch-lever latch, and throw the clutch out of connection. This portion of the mechanism thus becomes self-acting, and the workman is relieved of all the trouble or labor to which he would otherwise be put.

3. Our invention further relates to employment with the jaws or squeezing-dies of a machine for making axe-polls and other tools, of centre-pieces, against which the metal, when pressed in the die, is pushed by the punch; these centre-pieces being constructed and arranged, as hereinafter described, so as to form the ears of the poll when it is punched; and, further, so as to be adapted for use in connection with either the plane edge of the poll or that edge upon which the ears are formed, and also so as to constitute, when desired, a permanent gauge, for determining` the proper position of the partly-fbrmed poll between the jaws.

4. Our invention lastly consists in the combination, with the squeezing-dies, of an automatic gauge placed in rear of said dies, and moving with the cross-head, for the purpose of cent-ring the poll, and preventing its bit` end from being inserted too far in the dies, such gauge being gradually withdrawn from the dies as they l descend by means of an inclined stop over which its lower cnd moves. By this means the poll is placed in such position that the punch will enter it at the proper point, and its bit-end will be pinched by the dies neither more nor less than desired.'

To enable others skilled in the art to understand and use our invention, we will now proceed to describe the manner in which the same is or may be carried into effect, by reference to the accompanying. drawings, in which- Figure lis a perspect ve view of a machine made in accordance with our invention;

Figure 2 is a transve se vertical section; and

Figure 3 is a rear elevation of the same.

Figure 4 is a front View of the driving-wheel and female part of the clutch disconnected from the other mechanism. p

Figure 5 is a rear-view of said part of the clutch.

The machine shown 1n thedrawingsissimilarin the.

One of the ends of the shaft projects from the frame of the machine a sulicient distance to carry the male part C of the clutch, and the driving-wheel D, to which is secured the female clutch IG'.

The part G slides longitudinally on the shaft, and is held on it by a pin or feather in the usual way.

The wheel D is mounted loosely upon the shaft, and does not communicate motion to it, unless the two parts of the clutch are thrown into connection. As shown in lig.' 3, the two parts of the clutch are disconnected, and the cam-shaft is consequently at rest, the drivingwheel revolving freely upon it. But by moving up the male clutch toward the female clutch, by means Qt' the clutchshipper, or lever E, the two will be thrown in connection, and the cam-shaft will consequently be put in motion.

In order to lessen the strain which comes uponV the clutch by reason of the male part being thus suddenly forced to move with .the full velocity with which the driving` wheel and female part 'of the clutch revolve, we mount the female clutch upon a hub, a, on the inner face of the wheel D, and secure it thereto by means of fastening-bars b, extending into recessesfof somewhat larger size, formed in the clutch in such manner' that it may have a slight rotary movement independent of the wheel. And we attach to the wheel a stiff spring, c, whose end eirtends between ears d.

formed on'the under side of `the clutch, one or more of these springs being employed, as desired. Upder this arrangement, when the two parts of the clutch are brought together, the one will grasp the other, and put it in motion, by a yielding pressure, instead of forcing it at once to revolve with the same velocity as that of the wheel, and by the time the fastening-'bars b, which move with the wheel, bear against the side of the recesses in the clutch, the initial resistance of the male clutch and cam-shaft will have been overcome, and the parts will move in unison without undue torsion or strain. It will of course be understood that the spring or springs for effecting this result may be applied to either` or both parts of the clutch, and in other ways, the object in all cases being to produce a clutch in which either or both parts will be capable of yielding slightly when thrown into connection.

In machinery such as shown, it is necessary, after the cross-head and its appurtenances have descended and again ascended, that their movement should be arrested.

As one revolution ofthe shaft B and it cams, or eccentrics B, is suiiicient to impart this down Iand up motion to the cross-head, we attach either to the crosshead or the cam-shaft, or to some part moving in unison therewith, preferably one of the cams, or eccentrics B', a lug, h, so placed that when the cross-head has just passed the point of its highest elevation, as shown in g. l, the lug will catch under and lift alatch, e, attached to the vibratory clutch-lever, and, by thus raising the lever, throw the male part out of connection with the female part of the clutch. The driving-wheel will now revolve independent-ly of the shaft, and the motion of the latter will cease.

in order, however, to arrest with certainty the movement of the shaft, as well as to sustain the cross-head in its elevated position, we place a lug,f, on clutch lO in such position that when the male part is drawn back out of clutch the lug will strike and rest ,upon a stop, g, attached to the frame of the machine, so that the act of unclutching shall bring the lug in position to arrest the movement of the shaft and sustain the weight of the cross-bar. When the parts are again clutched, the clutch O, with its lug f, is moved forward snficiently. to clear the stop-bar.

Our remaining improvements relate to the method of working the iron in the machine. The set of jaws on the left of the machine, in g. l, (provided with a bitend, formed as seen at x, lig. 3,) is that -in which the iron is rst subjected to pressure, and it operates upon the iron substantially in the manner described in the Letters Patent above referred to. At the top of these jaws-or dies we use what is called a centre- .piece or die, It, against which the iron is pushed bythe punch. rlhis piece, in making what we call Kentucky axe-polls, as well as other tools having ears on the edge nearest the handle, ordinarily has a V-shaped recess cut init to shape the stock from which the ears are afterwards formed. But owing to the construction of the centre-piece the part of the poll which is pushed into the V-recess by punching the first time, is solid, and consequently so much stock is made that the next punch entering the poll (which has been turnedso as to present to the punch the edge on which the V solid projection has been formed) frequently carries in the whole ear, and so spoils the poll; or even if that should not happen, the punch, having so much iron to pass through, carries out more of the stock as scrap than is desirable.

To vobviate this difficulty, we make a centre-piece,

l, Figure 6, for the first set of dies, with a bar, t, ex-

tending centrally across the V-shaped recess andin the direction ofthe length of the centre-piece, so that when this rs used the metal will be squeezed up into the V- recess on each side of the centre-bar, thus forming the ears of the poll while itis being shaped and partially punched. The punch in the second or right-hand set of dies in iig. 1 thus passes between two ears already formed instead of having to enter the solid stock and punch it out in order to form them.

It may be 4well to state here that we usually punch and operate upon the poll but once in the rst set of jaws, and always twice in the second set.

Another improvement in the machine is the use in the second set of jaws of a long and sliding centrepiece, m, for use with polls which are provided with ears, as above described. This centre-piece is mounted upon a rod, n, or is otherwise suitably arranged to move back and forth, so as to present above the punch either a plane face or a face with a V-recess, n, in it. By this means, after the poll has been operated upon and the ears formed in the rst jaw, the straight portion of the centre-piece will support the upper or plain edge of the poll when first operated on in the second jaws; and when the poll is then turned so as to bring the ears upward preparatory to being subjected to a second squeezing, the centre-piece can be moved along so as to bring the V-recess in position to receive the ears. The advantage of this Iarrangement will be at once apparent if it be considered that'were a stationary centrepiece with a V-recess employed, ears would unavoidably be formed on both edges of the poll.

Again, when the iron is placed in the second set of jaws, a gauge is required to enable the workman to adj ust it in proper position to cause the punch to enter between the ears, so as to meet the hole made by the punch in the rst set of jaws, and to prevent the dies from pinching the bit-end of the poll too thin. This we accomplish by means of the hinged gauge-barand gauge-pin o, attached to the cross-head, and placed in rear of the dies in such position that when the crosshead is elevated the gauge-pin will extend a suitable distance within the jaws, so as to prevent the end of the poll' from reaching the rear of the dies. The gauge is held in this position by means of a spring, s, figs. 2 and 3, while the cross-head is elevated. But when the latter descends and the jaws begin to close upon the poll, the lower end of the gauge-bar meets an inclined stop, fr, and, as the cross-head continues to descend, the resistance of the spring is overcome, and the gauge-bar, together with the pin which it carries, is gradually withdrawn and removed from the jaws. The gauge-pin o may be made adjustable, if desired, so as to determine with extreme accuracy the position of the poll inthe jaws. t

In making ordinary polls, or those which have no ears, a plain centre-piece, indicated at K, g. l, is employed in the first set of jaws. In the second set of jaws, owing to the fact that the outside or upper edge of the poll is considerably longer than the lower edge or that next tov the handle, it is necessary, on account of the position of the poll during the first punching, to hold the iron from touching the automatic gauge above described. To this end we form, on a centrepiece t, to be used in the second set of jaws, a gauge, fw, which, when the poll is first placed between the second jaws enters the eye partly formed by the punch of the first set of jaws, and holds the poll in proper position for the second punch to enter the iron and scomplete the eye.v

Having now described our invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be carried into effect,

What we claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. The combination, with the lug or stop on the cam-shaft or other part moving in unison therewith, of the hinged clutch-lever and its vibrating latch, arranged to engage with' said lug or stop, substantially as and for the purposes shown .and set forth.

2. The combination of the clutch, formed of two parts as described, and cam-shaft on which the said parts-are mounted, and the clutch-lever' and latch, of

the stop onv the male portion of the clutch and corresponding stop on the machine-frame, and the lug on the said cam-shaft or other part moving in nnison therewith, arranged for joint operation as herein shown andspecied.

3. The combination, with the punching-pin and squeezing-dies, of an ear-forming centre-piece or die, constructed and arranged to operate substantially as herein described, so that when the metal is punched from the one edge, the two ears on the other edge of the poll will be formed in said die from the metal forced into the same by the punching-operation, as set forth.

4. The employment, with the squeezing-dies, of a sliding centre-piece, constructed and operated as described, so as to receive either'the plain edge of the poll or that edge upon which the ears are formed, as and for the purposes set forth.

5. rIIhe employment, with the squeezing-dies, of the In testimony whereof, we have signed our names to this specification, before two subscribing witnesses.

ROBT.` BLAKE. ANSEL CARPENTER. Witnesses:

HARVEY `OLUTE, PATRICK MGGRATH. 

